Wednesday, 24 August 2011 13:51
Pictures from the series Habaneras, by painter Servando Cabrera Moreno.
The beauty, grace and the magical attraction that Cuban women and women in Havana have is perhaps a result of the fusion of such diverse nationalities like Iberians, Africans, Chinese, French and even our primitive origins among many others.
These beauties, have historically vigorously motivated (and still motivate) poets, painters and musicians, who show their unconditional surrender in poems, canvases and scores. So much comes from this devotion that there is a musical genre that has hailed women since 1842 —something unparalleled in the world— named precisely after the women in the Cuban capital, "habanera."
Musicologists suggest that it´s the result of a harmonious combination of African rhythmic pattern —based on the Cuban country dance— and song, a distinctly European musical genre, conceived for voice and piano, slow-pace and binary meter, ideal for slow dancing.
The best and the most universal of examples is the piece, "Tú," ("You") composed by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes, a native of Havana´s San Cristóbal village, born in 1874. The song, at that point without title, became known in 1892 at one of the gatherings that patriot Marta Abreu frequently held. Everyone liked the song for having the seductive melody of an Italian opera´s arias, yet was brimming with that which is Cuban. It´s said that one of the guests, Renée Molina, who was famous and admired for her superb beauty, was fascinated by the piece and asked Fuentes, "What´s is the title of that song?" The author, perplexed by the woman´s beauty, simply replied, "You."
Among Cuban musical pieces that have achieved immortality and embody those born on the island, they are without a doubt "La Bayamesa", "La Bella Cubana", "Siboney", "El Manisero", "La Guantanamera" and of course the habanera, "Tú."
Finally, for those who don´t know the song or have forgotten some of his verses, here are the lyrics translated into English:
In Cuba,
the beautiful island
of the hot sun
under its blue sky
adorable brunette
out of all its flowers
you are the queen
Sacred fire
guard your heart
the clear sky
I gave you its joy
and I confused your eyes
for God
your eyes are the night and light
the rays of the sun
Sweet is the cane
but sweeter is your voice
may bitterness
be removed the heart
and contemplate
sighs my lute
beautiful pray without stopping
because you are Cuba
The palm
in the forest
gently rocks
so that your dreams are lulled
and the breeze´s kiss
to kill the afternoon
woke you up.
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